Axial-gap motor



April 24, 1951 B. LITMAN AXIAL-GAP MOTOR Filed Aug. 6, 1948 Fig.3.

INVENTOR Bernard Li'rman.

ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 24, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AXIAL-GAP MOTOR Bernard Litman, Bronx, N, Y., assignor to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application August 6, 1948, Serial No. 42,801

4 Claims. 1

My invention relates to plural-primary, pluralgap dynamo-electric machines, and it has particular relation to axial-gap squirrel-cage motors.

Heretofore, axial-gap motors have been known, in which the airgap is disposed in a radial plane normal to the axis of the motor, so that the flux flows axially across the airgap. Such motors have been troubled, in general, by a flywheel-effect which is greater than is obtained in a conventional cylindrical-gap motor of comparable rating, and they have also been troubled by an excessively large end-thrust which necessitates the use of large thrust-bearings, while bein not substantially better than the conventional motors in regard to weight and cooling-problems.

An object of my present invention is to provide a motor or other dynamo-electric machine having a pair of spaced stationary primary members, and a squirrel-cage rotor-member disposed therebetween, and separated therefrom by two airgaps, one on either side of the rotor-member, in combination with two primary windings, or the equivalent, one primary winding being disposed on the airgap side of each of the primary stationary members, and so excited as to tend to produce phase-oppositional fluxes which flow straight through the secondary or rotor-member, from one airgap to the other, so that the secondary or rotormember does not have to have any magnetizable core, for carrying circumferentially flowing magnetic fluxes, but the magnetizable flux-carrying member of the secondary or rotor-member is made up entirely of a plurality of discrete, spaced sets of radially stacked tooth-punchings, which are completely or nearly completely magnetically disconnected from each other, and which comprise the secondary teeth.

' A more specific object of my invention is to provide an axial-gap squirrel-cage motor of the double-gap type just described.

Another object of my invention is to provide a double-gap motor, not limited, to airgaps of the axial flux-flow type, in which the magnetizable flux-carrying member of the rotor is made up entirely of a plurality of discrete, spaced stacks of tooth-punchings which are completely or nearly completely magnetically disconnected from each other, and which are composed of oriented magnetizable material having a preferred flux-carrying direction in substantial alignment with the direction of the flux which flows straight through these rotor-teeth from one airgap to the other, thereby overcoming a disadvantage of oriented magnetizable material, which has not found general use in dynamo-electric machines, because 2 previous machines have in general involved nonrectilinear flux-flow paths.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the structures, combinations, systems, parts and methods of assembly and design, hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic fragmentary developed view of a cylindrical section through my motor, the section-cylinder being indicated at I--I in Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of circuits and apparatus, illustrating my invention and showing the electrical connections of the two primary windings;

Fig. 3 is a somewhat diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view of my motor in an illustrative form of embodiment; and

Fig. 4 is an end-view of the rotor-member alone.

I have shown my invention embodied in the form of an axial-gap squirrel-cage motor comprising a pair of axially spaced primary statormembers 5 and 6, and a rotor-member I disposed therebetween and separated therefrom by two axial airgaps 8 and 9, one on either side of the rotor-member I. The rotor-member I is mounted on a shaft I I. The two ail-gaps 8 and 9 are disposed in axially spaced parallel radial planes which are at right angles to the shaft ll, so that the flux flows axially across these two airgaps 8 and 9.

The two primary-stator members 5 and 6 are mounted Within a common frame which is diagrammatically shown as comprising two endbrackets l2 and !3, which are joined to the respective ends of an outer frame-ring I 4. The brackets l2 and i3 carry bearings l5 and [6, which are illustrated as being of the ball-bearing type, for rotatably supporting the shaft H. The two primary members 5 and 6 are alike so that a description of one will suflice for both: Each of these members comprises a stator-core I! or H, which is made up of spirally wound magnetizable sheet-material, the back end of which is carried by its associated bracket l2 or [3 as the case may be, while the front end of the core I1 is slotted, as shown at E9, to carry a primar winding 2! or 2|, which is supported near the adjacent airgap 8 or 9 as the case may be.

The rotor-member I may be mounted on a rotor-spider 23 which is carried bythe shaft II, and which supports the inner end-ring 24 of a squirrel-cage secondary-member which will be subsequently described more in detail. A

distinctive feature of my invention is that the rotor-member I has a magnetizable flux-carrying member which is made up of a plurality of discrete, spaced, sets of radially stacked toothpunchings 25 which are completely or nearly completely magnetically disconnected from each other, and which carry flux in an axial direction, from one of the radial-plane airgaps 8 to the other radial-plane airgap 9. The squirrel-cage winding consists of axially-extending squirrelcage bars 26, occupying the spaces between the rotor-teeth 25, these bars being connected, at their ends, to the inner end-ring 24 and to an outer end-ring 27, respectively, of the squirrelcage winding. winding, including the bars 26 and the two endrings 24 and 21, are cast in a single integral piece, which, at least in the smaller motor-ratings, will have sufiicient mechanical strength to constitute the means for holding the various "i parts of the rotor-member together.

It is a feature of my invention that the magnetic flux which is produced by the stator-windings 2| and 2|, respectively, shall flow axially across the two airgaps 8 and 9, straight axially through the secondary-teeth 25, so that there is no circumferential rotor-flux flow, the only circumferential flux-flow in the motor being in the rear portion of the respective stator cores I! and I i, back of the primary windings 2| and 2|, respectively. This straightthrough axial flux-flow is indicated in Fig. 1, which also indicates the fact that the number of rotor-teeth 25 is, in general, slightly different from the number of tomary in induction-motor designs.

In order that the magnetic flux may flow axially, substantially straight through the rotormember 1, it is necessary for the two primary windings 2! and 2| to be so energized as to produce phase-oppositional fluxes, so that a primary north-pole is formed, at the airgap 8, at the same time when a primary south-pole is formed axially opposite thereto, on the airgap 9, the lines of force being as indicated at 36 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 shows diagrammatically a series electrical connection for the corresponding phases of the two primary windings 2| and 2!. A 3- phase primary is indicated, supplied by lineconductors Li, L2 and L3, and the corresponding phases of the two windings are connected in series with each other, so as to produce the oppositional fluxes which flow axially through the secondary teeth, from one airgap to the other, as indicated in Fig. 1.

It will be noted that the magnetic attraction between the stators and the rotor, at the two airgaps 8 and 9, will be equal and opposite to each other, so that there will be no resultant end-thrust, of any material magnitude, operating on the rotor-member as a result of these magnetic attractions. It will further be noted that the use of a common rotor-member I, for the two stator-members and 6, with axially flowing flux in the rotor-member, produces a motor in which no rotor-core is needed, using the term core in the sense of a magnetizable member which carries circumferential flux, or flux from the back of one tooth to the back of the next tooth. I thus save not only the rotorcore material, but also the rotor-core space, so that my rotor-member 1 has a relatively short axial length. Furthermore, the cast squirrelcage member 2426-21 will usually be made Preferably, the squirrel-cage and substantially primary-teeth 35, as is cus- I of cast aluminum, which still further reduces the rotor-weight, thus producing a motor having an. extremely low flywheel-effect, making the motor particularly useful in services requiring frequent starting and stopping.

It will still further be noted that I have provided a motor in which every bit of the magnetizable material which is used in the rotormember I is in the form of flat tooth-punchings 2'5, and each of these punchings carries flux, in a substantially straight line, from one end of the punching to the other, this flux-direction being parallel with the rotor-shaft ll. Since the flux flows rectilinearly through the rotor tooth-punchings 25, it is, therefore, possible to use one of the oriented silicon steels, for the rotor tooth-punchings 25, or, in general, an oriented magnetizable material having a preferred flux-carrying direction in substantial alignment with the direction of flux-flow therethrough.

The result of. the foregoing and other advantages is a motor which is phenomenally small for a given rating, which has a phenomenally low flywheel-effect, and substantially no thrustbearing problem, besides having the generally recognized advantages of axial-gap motors, which will adapt these motors to such services as oilwell drives, and the so-called bracket-mountings for individual machine-drives.

While I have illustrated my invention in but a single illustrative form of embodiment, I wish it to be understood that the general designprinciples of my invention are susceptible of embodiment in other forms, besides being susceptible of various changes in the way of additions, omissions, and the substitution of equivalents. For example, in the description, the terms primary and secondary (or squirrel-cage) could be interchanged, or the terms stationary and rotor could be interchanged. I desire, therefore, that the appended claims shall be accorded the broadest construction consistent with their language.

I claim as my invention:

1. A dynamo-electric machine comprising a rotatable machine-part and a stationary machinepart, one of said machine-parts comprising two spaced magnetizable members, and the other one of said machine-parts comprising an intermediate magnetizable member which is disposed between said two spaced magnetizable members with airgaps therehetween; each of said two spaced magnetizable members being a cylindrical core-member having slots, and teeth between the slots, on its airgap side, and having a continuous magnetizable portion for carrying flux circumferentially around said member at a point back of said teeth, away from the airgap side; windings carried by said slots, and connections for so energizing the windings of the two spaced magnetizable members as to cause flux to traverse the two airgaps, flowing substantially straight through said intermediate magnetizable member; said intermediate magnetizable member being made up of a plurality of discrete spaced magnetizable teeth extending in the direction of flux-flow.

2. An induction motor constructed as defined in claim 1, characterized by having a secondary winding carried by the discrete teeth of said intermediate member, and further characterized by the number of teeth of said intermediate member being different from the number of teeth of said core-members.

5 6 3. A squirrel-cage motor constructed as de- REFERENCES CITED fined m 01mm charactenzed by havmg a Squn" The following references are of record in the rel-cage winding carried by the discrete teeth file of this patent: of said intermediate member, and further char acterized by the number of teeth of said inter- 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS mediate member being different from the number Number Name Date of teeth of said core-members. 570,914 Dorman Nov. 10, 1896 4. An axial igap dynamo-electric machine con- 1,605,796 Tanzler Nov. 2, 1926 structed as defined in claim 1, characterized by 1,829,686 Swendsen Oct. 27, 1931 the two spaced magnetizable members being 10 2,479,589 Parker Aug. 23, 1949 spaced in an axial direction, each consisting of 1 a spirally wound annular-shaped laminated EOREIGN PA PEN rs magnetizable core, and each of said airgaps being Number Country a an axial airgap Great Britain July 20,

BERNARD LITMAN. l5 

